Adult-onset asthma in women, but not in men, appears to increase the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke, according to a report.

Adult-onset asthma in women, but not in men, appears to increase the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke, according to a report in the May 1st American Journal of Cardiology.

"Adult onset asthma, like rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and other inflammatory diseases that disproportionately affect women, may be a relatively strong risk factor for atherosclerotic disease," Dr. Stephen J. Onufrak from the US Department of Agriculture, Stoneville, Mississippi told Reuters Health.

Dr. Onufrak and colleagues used data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study to examine the association of asthma age-of-onset phenotypes with incidence of CHD and stroke according to gender.

They found that, compared with their counterparts without asthma, women with adult-onset asthma had a 2.10-fold increase in the rate of CHD and a 2.36-fold increase in the rate of stroke.

These associations were attenuated but remained significant after adjustment for demographic variables and established CHD factors, the report indicates.

There was no association between child-onset or adult-onset asthma and CHD or stroke for men, or between child-onset asthma and CHD or stroke for women.

"I believe the results need to be replicated in another population-based cohort prior to establishment of any concrete recommendations," Dr. Onufrak said.

"However," he continued, "numerous studies have suggested a link between obesity and adult-onset asthma, particularly among women. Asthma has also been listed as a complication of metabolic syndrome in the 2004 Report of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute/American Heart Association Conference on Scientific Issues on Metabolic Syndrome. As such, women with adult-onset asthma may be more likely to have metabolic syndrome or other known risk factors for CHD."

Furthermore, Dr. Onufrak commented, "Given the current obesity epidemic, the public health importance of adult-onset asthma as a risk factor for CHD and stroke may be increasing, because risk of adult-onset asthma is increased among obese women."

Am J Cardiol 2008;101:1247-1252